External Resources - Data

Population Data BC is home to one of the world's largest collections of health services use and population health data for approved public interest research projects in a privacy-sensitive, high-security environment. These data includes longitudinal, person-specific, de-identified health data on BC's four million residents, from 1985 forward.

This page provides links to external sources of Data that may be of interest.

Data Resources

Aboriginal Peoples Survey - These profiles contain information on adult and child Aboriginal identity population for selected communities in Canada where the Aboriginal identity population is 200 or more according to the 2001 Census, but is widely used as a nationally representative database on health indicators specific to several communities, including First Nations, Métis settlements and Inuit communities.

Atlas of Canada - provides the most interesting, dynamic and comprehensive collection of maps and related information about Canada available anywhere on the Internet, with effective and intuitive tools for users to access them.

BC Digital Road Atlas (GeoBC) - provides a single, authoritative source of road data for BC.

Canadian Cancer Registry - The provincial/territorial registries include persons diagnosed (living or deceased) with a malignant cancer. The CCR covers all incidences of cancer for individuals whose usual place of residence is Canada and was designed to  study cancer patterns and trends and to monitor differences in cancer risks among different populations. Information about cancer incidence and survival in Canada (e.g. identify risk factors for the cancer; monitor patient screening programs; etc.)

Canadian Census Geography (Statistics Canada) - The 2006 boundary files portray the geographic limits used for census dissemination and are available for Provinces and Territories, Census Divisions, Economic Regions, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, Census Consolidated Subdivisions, and Census Subdivisions.

Canadian Community Health Survey (Statistics Canada) - Conducted by Statistics Canada to provide cross-sectional estimates of health determinants, health status and health system utilization for all health regions across Canada, plus the territories. The sampling frame incorporates various scales, ranging from health regions to dissemination areas.

Canadian Health region GIS boundary files - Digital boundary files reflecting health region limits in effect as of June 2005.

Canadian Topographic Mapping - Toporama - One of the Atlas of Canada’s special 100th Anniversary projects is offering topographical maps for all of Canada. These new maps are the next generation of the Centre for Topographic Information’s very successful Toporama product. The National Topographic System (NTS) provides general-purpose topographic map coverage of Canada. These maps depict, in detail, ground relief (landforms and terrain), drainage (lakes and rivers), forest cover, administrative areas, populated areas, transportation routes and facilities (including roads and railways), and other constructed features. The maps show data from the 1:250 000 and 1:50 000 National Topographic Databases.

Canadian Institute for Health Information - CIHI publishes a wealth of publicly available statistics, which can be accessed through individual data holding pages or through our Quick Stats and analytic reports. More information on CIHI's data holdings can be found at:

- Health human resources databases - capture data on the many different professions making up Canada’s health care workforce.

- Health spending databases - track the money: where it comes from and how it is spent, at both the macro and selected micro levels.

- Health services databases - capture information across the continuum of health care services in Canada.

Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) - Clearinghouse for environmental data, metadata, and data tools.

Continuing Care - Information on transactions relate to clients who are in-patients in Continuing Care funded institutions, clients in adult daycare programs, and clients receiving home care and home support services.

Digital Chart of the World Server (Penn State) - International boundary files.

The Discovery Portal - The GeoConnections Discovery Portal is your gateway to millions of geospatial data products. Browse metadata records or search by subject, coverage or product type to find, evaluate, visualize and access the geospatial data you need.

DMTI - Enhanced Points of Interest (EPOI) file is a national database of over 1 million Canadian business, civic, and recreational points of interest.

Forward Sortation Areas (Statistic Canada) - Forward Sortation Area Boundary File product is released as a geographic reference tool for from StatCan, providing a spatial representation of FSA’s as reported by Census respondents. The product, in conjunction with Statistics Canada data, can be used for applications such as site location analysis, planning of service delivery and various types of data analysis and mapping (the utility of its scale varies for urban and rural and remote areas however).

GeoBase - GeoBase is your portal for no fee access to quality geospatial data.

GeoBC: BC’s Geographic Gateway - GeoBC provides a window to data and information sources provided by various ministries and agencies from the Natural Resource Sector within the British Columbia Provincial Government. The focus is on spatial and attribute data and associated applications that allow display and interaction with the data.

Geography Network - Clearinghouse for free and fee-based geographic data.

GeoGratis - GeoGratis is a portal provided by the Earth Sciences Sector (ESS) of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) which provides geospatial data at no cost and without restrictions via your Web browser.

GeoScience Data Repository - Surface and near surface data can be used in conjunction with other data sets when examining population health risk, such as absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination of toxicants released by the materials into the body (e.g. levels of Arsenic in drinking water).

Harvard Map Collection - Access to the Harvard Geospatial Library (HGL) for geospatial data download, electronic atlases and information on Harvard print collections.

Health Regions: Boundaries and Correspondence with Census Geography (Statistics Canada) - Boundary files for provincial health administrative areas and linkage files to link these areas to census geographical units.

Longitudinal Data Analysis for Social Science Researchers - Demo data and links to data sources for social science longitudinal data analysis.

MassGIS - A variety of spatial data and mapping resources for the state of Massachusetts, including free data download and online mapping.

National Historical Geographic Information System - NHGIS is a project to create and freely disseminate databases incorporating all available aggregate census information for the United States between 1790 and 2000.

National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth - The National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) is a long-term study of Canadian children that follows their development and well-being from birth to early adulthood. The study is designed to collect information about factors influencing a child's social, emotional and behavioural development and to monitor the impact of these factors on the child's development over time (various cycles).

National Population Health Survey (various cycles) - The National Population Health Survey (NPHS) is a longitudinal survey that collects information from a sample of people who lived in Canada in 1994/95, when the survey was launched. Its goal is to collect information on their health status and the factors that can have an influence on health. Data is collected bi-yearly and can be linked to small-area census boundaries.

National Topographic Database - Comprises digital vector data sets that cover the entire Canadian landmass. Geomatics Canada has digitized and structured thousands of topographic maps, creating a complete and uniform product. The NTDB includes features such as watercourses, urban areas, railways, roads, vegetation, and relief.

Pennsylvania Spatial Data Access (PASDA) - Spatial data portal for Pennsylvania provides access to comprehensive vector and raster datasets including aerial photography and topographic maps.

Population Ecumene File - The Population Ecumene Census Division boundary file for Canada contains a generalised population ecumene boundary with at least one ecumene pocket for every census division (CD). It can be used to produce small-scale thematic maps of statistical data.

Postal Codes - (PC) are one of the most robust localized spatial geography for small-area population-level data in British Columbia.

Postal Code Conversion Files (PCCF, PCCF+) - The Postal Code Conversion File provides a link between six character postal codes and standard 2001 census geographic areas (such as dissemination areas, municipalities, and census tracts). It also provides the latitude and longitude coordinates for a point representing the approximate location of the postal code to support mapping.

Samples of Anonymised Records - Large sample datasets of anonymized individual records from the 1991 and 2001 UK Census.

Scholar's Lab (formerly Geostat) - Geospatial and statistical data center at the University of Virginia.

Social Explorer - Provides easy access to demographic information about the United States, from 1790 to 2000.

Spatial Analysis Lab (SAL) Data - Sample data for teaching and research with GeoDa from the Spatial Analysis Lab at the University of Illinois.

Survey Data in Teaching - Teaching resource that uses examples from the British Crime Survey to illustrate the use of statistics in social science is the ‘X4L’ project. This is a very accessible introductory level resource.

Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics - At the heart of the survey's objectives is the understanding of the economic well-being of Canadians: what economic shifts do individuals and families live through, and how does it vary with changes in their paid work, family make-up, receipt of government transfers or other factors? The survey's longitudinal dimension makes it possible to see such concurrent and often related events.

US Census Bureau Factfinder - Free US decennial census population and social characteristics data.

USGS National Geospatial Data Clearinghouse - Geospatial data from the US Geological Survey.